Simon and Eugene split hairs over whether the Spitznbergen Separatist are terrorists or extortionists, we discuss sending a remote-controlled dog to do a robot’s job, and the connections between the worlds of Bugs and Batman.

Episode Synopsis

Three evil motorcycle-riding Power Rangers stage a raid on the Austin Institute.  Inside, Dr. Siegal and his assistant, Dr. Kim are working on an exciting project to control muscles electronically.  An innovation they hope will one day restore mobility to people with spinal injuries.

For now, they have one living test subject, and that’s what the attackers want – not the inventor, Dr. Siegal, whom they kill, nor the technology – just the working prototype: Newton the dog.

Thwarted by security and the quick-thinking actions of Dr. Kim, the attackers escape empty-handed.  She calls in Team Bugs.

The Buggies are introduced to Newton who, Dr. Kim explains, has been turned into a canine party trick.  She’s a completely normal dog that can also be completely remote-controlled.  Beckett takes an immediate shine to her.  (Newton, not Dr. Kim.)

Finding them should be easy, the Austin Institute has a chemical tagging system in case of lost animals.  All the attackers were sprayed with the chemical as they escaped.  Ros and Ed easily find the lair, but the birds have flown, leaving behind their tagged clothing and a computer with an easily undeleted but cunningly-encrypted file.

Just then, Wence and the SSD burst in the door.  Team Bugs have bumbled into an active investigation, but the SSD know nothing of the raid last night on the Austin Institute.  Reluctantly, Wence takes Team Bugs on board.

Wence explains that these people are the Nordic Front, A Spitznbergen separatist eco-terrorist organization with a difference – they use eco-terrorism as a means of blackmailing the authorities.  The organization is run by a man named Alkmaar.  They are believed to be planning a terrorist blackmailing attack in the UK, and somehow, they need Newton to do it.

The key now is to keep Newton away from them at all costs.  Wence wants to put her in a maximum security protection, but Ed has a better idea:  Let Beckett just walk her out of here on a leash and take her on the Docklands Light Rail, while Wence’s high security caravan acts as decoy.

That plan works about as well as you’d expect:  Not at all.  The Nordic Front are on Beckett as soon as he walks out the door.  They carefully bid their time, shadowing him on their motorcycles in the completely deserted streets and trains of the Docklands.  An exciting chase ensues, but ultimately, Beckett and Newton are separated with Newton high-tailing it out of there are doggie speed.  Pity the Austin Institute didn’t use any of their tagging technology they use for tracking wayward animals on their most prized animal: Newton.

But there’s a backup plan, Ros can tech the tech and track down Newton’s control collar.  Ed and Beckett chase Newton down to an abandoned water bottle plant.

Alkmaar raids Team Bugs HQ and captures Ros and Wence, giving the location of Newton to his two henchmen.  They capture Ed, Beckett, Newton and the doggie remote control device, and leave bombs behind to eliminate the opposition.  The bombs fail.

Ros has cracked the ingeniously encrypted file because, of course, she has.  They’re after Security Facility 47, somewhere in the heart of London.

Security Facility 47 is the perfect security facility, completely automated, unmanned, and nondescript – it’s so human-unfriendly, it’ll just kill anyone who enters – but not remote-controlled dogs.

Inside SF47 is… every kind of warhead, including the naughty ones the good guys aren’t supposed to have, stored there just in case of World War III.

Alkmaar gives Newton a bomb to hold in her mouth, and then they snip a hole in the fence and send the dog in through the pre-existing doggie door.  The caper:  Pay us a boatload of money, or we turn London into a crater.  You have 2 hours.

Team Bugs enter the unenterable facility.  Beckett goes deeper into the facility to find Newton, while Ed operates the control panels to turn off the defenses.  Ros, meanwhile, tries to track down and eliminate Newton’s control signal, which must be originating somewhere nearby.

She finds the control outside in a bespoke tanker.  First, she eliminates one of the henchmen, then she locks Alkmaar outside the tanker and takes control of Newton, using him to remove the bomb from the facility.

Ed is attacked by, and kills, the other henchman.  They escape, with Newton, in the nick of time as the bomb explodes the tanker, killing Alkmaar with a much more satisfying final explosion than last week’s.